Marathon training update

22:47
Jemma Taylor-Smith
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It's been pretty quiet on the blog lately. We went away for half term, work's been pretty full on and trying to squeeze in marathon training too has meant that something has had to give and unfortunately it's been my blogging. I can't promise it won't happen again as it very well might, but that's life hey?!

I thought it would be good to provide an update as to how the marathon training is going.

Week 7, which was before we went away was a bit rubbish. My shin was hurting so I only managed one run in the week. I did manage 10 miles at the weekend though. The last mile was a bit of a killer!

Whilst we were away (week 8) I did two short runs, which I really struggled with. I'm not sure if it was the country air, but it was really difficult!

When we were back from hol (week 9), I started to panic a bit that I wasn't doing as well as I should be so I did two four mile runs in the week, both featuring quite a steep hill and 12 miles on the Sunday and I felt great, the weather was perfect for running and I even stopped mid-way through the run to take this photo.

Week 9 left me feeling much more positive.

I'm finding that how I frame the run in my mind before I go really make a difference to how well it goes. There really is a lot to be said for positive thinking and mindfulness when it comes to running.

One thing I do really need to sort though is post-run eating. After my 12 miles on Sunday, I had my usual protein shake but then wasn't really hungry for the rest of the day. I had a bit of cottage pie and a tiny bit of cheese cake for dinner and spent the evening and the majority of Monday feeling awful. I suspect something to do with blood sugars, as after a few biscuits I seemed to feel better.

This week, I've been away with work and have only managed one four mile mid-week run. I felt strong though during that run and played around a little with speed. The plan is do to 14 miles on Saturday. I'm going to try using the lucozade drinks as they are given out during the marathon. When I get back, as well as my protein shake, I'm going to eat a slice of toast with nutella and peanut butter to try and avoid that post-run hangover feeling. I'll let you know how it goes.

At the minute I'm feeling pretty confident. I'm pretty much on plan. Over the next few weeks I want to try and add in more kettlebells and I also want to try and lose some weight to make it easier on race day.